Bancroft Council is considering sharing library services with other communities in North Hastings.
A delegation, made up of Southern Ontario Library Service Consultant Peggy Malcolm and Bancroft Public Library CEO Kimberley McMunn pitched the union library idea to council today.
Malcolm says Bancroft, Hastings Highlands, Wollaston, Carlow-Mayo and Faraday are being invited to take part, as two or more municipalities are needed to form a union library. The model would also see a single library board created for all five communities, with one full time CEO, bookkeeper, and processing clerk.
Malcolm says it would see services shared across these libraries without affecting operations.
Individual libraries would remain open. Malcolm also assured council the union library model would not mean a significant cost increase.
Malcolm says all councils involved in the potential union library would need to approve the idea in principal before anything can happen. Bancroft Council was the first to be approached. The idea will be looked at further during an upcoming Infrastructure and Finance Committee meeting. The idea will be pitched to Faraday council tomorrow, and to Wollaston later this month.